The Aztecs

The people known as the Aztecs arrived in central Mexico in about 1250. According to later legends, their priests had been told by the gods that they should claim a

Spot on the marshy western edge of Lake Texcoco (tays-KOH-koh), today the site of Mexico's capital, Mexico City. Even the name "Mexico" comes from the Aztecs, who called themselves "Mexica" (may-SHEE-kah).

Because of the cruel defeat they later suffered at the hands of the Europeans, it is easy for modern people to believe that the Aztecs themselves were gentle, peace-loving people. Nothing could be further from the truth: in fact, if they had possessed the same level of military technology as the Spaniards, it might well have been the Aztecs who emerged victorious. They were a proud, fierce people whose religion was based on human sacrifice and who exerted their influence through conquests so cruel that their enemies later welcomed the arrival of the Europeans.

But it all started with the tiny settlement on Lake Texco-co, which by 1325 had grown into a great city named Tenochti-tlan (tay-nawch-teet-LAHN). The latter would grow in wealth, largely through conquest of neighboring peoples. Military victory also brought in new victims for sacrifice to Aztec gods such as Huitzilopochtli (hwit-zil-oh-POHCH-t'lee) and Quetzalcoatl (kwet-zuhl-KWAH-tuhl). The Aztecs did not only sacrifice enemies, however: Aztec warriors considered it an honor to be chosen as a sacrifice to the gods. Given this fact, it not hard to imagine how formidable Aztec troops were in battle.